The director of 'Cinderella', Kenneth Branagh, has denied rumours that the waist of the film's star, Lily James, has been airbrushed to make it look smaller.

Just as Lord Voldemort's lack of a nose was a trick of video editing, many watching the trailer for the classic fairy tale believe Cinderella's waist is just too unbelievable to have been James' real figure. Airbrush rumours started to spread after the latest trailer for the film was released, with many questioning James' miniature frame in the famous ball scene.

Yet Branagh, directing the movie, said it was simply down to the corset James was wearing.

"It was not, it was not," Branagh responded to the Photoshop accusations. "I can't remember anybody during that ball sequence who went up next to her and didn't go, 'Oh my god!' Then they'd look round the other side.

"I was constantly saying, 'You are eating, aren't you Lily? Let's get Lily some soup please! These gowns were beautifully crafted and they produced shapes that were very extreme. To all the airbrush conspiracy theorists I can answer now: no."

James, who is best known for playing Lady Rose MacClare in 'Downton Abbey', also commented on the furore, admitting that she did have to "squeeze to within an inch of my life" to put the corset and dress on.

"I think it's really important that people know I didn't because I think that would be a really bad thing if you'd photoshopped the waist because it would be like trying to create something that's not real and i think the whole time we were going for truth," she said.

The modern day makeover of Cinderella was shown at the Berlin Film Festival this week, with stars such as Helena Bonham-Carter and Cate Blanchett starring in Branagh's adaptation.